Sean Baumgart

Many a fan would have filed into Suncorp Stadium on Friday night hoping for two things: a Roar victory and a masterclass from Sydney FC's Italian star Alessandro Del Piero.

And few would have gone home disappointed after the home team broke a three-game slide to win 4-2 for just their second victory of the A-League season.

Despite Brisbane’s dominance, there was still room for the Del Piero magic the crowd of 22,970 had come to see.

Deft touch and brutal power marked his rare time on the ball and Roar goalkeeper Michael Theo will have nightmares after being outclassed by the veteran striker for goals in the 42nd and 49th minutes.

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Yet it was Brisbane who won the night in comprehensive fashion. Goals to Thomas Broich and Erik Paartalu in the 30th and 33rd minutes looked to have blown the game open, however a Sydney comeback had to be snuffed out through goals from Ben Halloran (45th) and Besart Berisha (57th).

Halloran’s marker was a watershed moment for the 20-year-old, his first A-League goal classily taken to beat Sydney goalkeeper Ivan Necevski from a cruel angle.

While the Roar have bided their time with the Cairns product, he said he was putting pressure on himself to break his goal drought in the top flight.

“Amongst the club I didn’t feel that much pressure,” he said.

“The boys have been pretty patient with me and so has Rado but I put pressure on myself because I want to score goals for the club because that’s part of my job.”

Roar coach Rado Vidosic, under siege after the defending premiers’ winless streak since they beat Melbourne Victory at the same ground more than a month ago, said he was happy to see Halloran finding his feet.

“He did really well, he just needs to believe in himself a little more and when he’s in a situation he needs to take charge of it because we know he has the speed and once he gets behind an opponent no-one can catch him so he needs to back himself a little more,” he said.

“That goal definitely helped him, you know, with confidence, I think his performance after the goal was brilliant.”

Vidosic was similarly happy with his side’s first-half performance, in which it amassed a 3-1 lead and restricted Del Piero to just one quality touch on the ball, as per their game plan.

However, after the break the home side’s defence lost its prior resilience and Sydney FC’s star player threatened to take hold of the match.

The 37-year-old’s first-half goal was born of sheer power when, unmarked, he leant into a rare left-foot long-range blast that the whole stadium saw coming yet still left Theo grasping at air.

His second effort showcased his finesse as he spun through defenders, worked a neat one-two with Yairo Yau and then outfoxed Theo from close range.

Vidosic admitted containing Del Piero had taken up a large chunk of time on the training pitch this week and said his side could have made a better job of it.

“There was no-one near him. Del Piero is a go-to man and they are always looking to pass to him and it’s very simple to stand close to him and that’s it, it shouldn’t be that hard,” he said.

“The idea was to try to intercept the pass before he receives it and I think Erik (Paartalu) tried to do that but we just didn’t close that space quickly enough. He just showed how good a player he is. He’s a brilliant player.”

Interim Sydney FC coach Steve Corica, appointed after the shock resignation of Ian Crook after just six games, admits his side has an uphill battle to break what has become a three-game slide.

And he says finding threats on goal other than Del Piero will be a key cog in that recovery.

“(Del Piero) scored two great goals today, with the possibility of a third if the ball was delivered to him,” he said.

“But we don’t want to be a one-man team as well because if he’s marked tight there’s obviously spaces elsewhere and we have to use that.”